Cleaning composition



Patented May 17, 1938 CLEANING COMPOSITION Elizabeth P. MacDonald andNaomi W. Stenglein,

Saginaw, Mich.

No Drawing. Application January 17, 1936, Serial No. 59.552

6 Claims. (01, 87-5) protecting covering on the surface cleaned, and

is a continuation in part of our Letters Patent of the United States No.2,032,372, issued March 3, 1936 for Method of cleaning and coatingsurfaces. Objects of the invention include the provision of a materialwhich may be dissolved in water and employed to clean painted, varnishedand other surfaces in a quick and eflicient manner without adverselyaffecting the finish thereof; the provision of a material as abovedescribed .which, when a small amount of a solution thereof is allowedto remain and dry upon the surface cleaned thereby, will leave aprotecting film upon such surface; the provision of a material as abovedescribed in which such film allowed to remain and dry upon a surfacecleaned by the material will act to protect the surface against foreignmaterial thereafter deposited upon it and which film is soluble so as tothereafter enhance the ease with which subsequently deposited foreignmaterial may be removed from such surface.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a cleaningmixture or compound including glue and a cleaning agent, the weight ofthe glue constituting 25% to 50% of the total weight of the mixture; theprovision of a cleaning mixture including glue and one or more elementsof a class including borax, sodium carbonate, and trisodium phosphate,the glue constituting approximately one-third of the total weight of themixture; the provision of a cleaning mixture including glue, sodiumcarbonate and trisodium phosphate, the glue constituting 25% to 50% ofthe entire weight of the. mixture and the sodium carbonate or borax, andtrisodium phosphate being present in substantially equal amounts; andthe provision of a cleaning compound including glue, and anhydroussodium carbonate, and trisodium phosphate, the glue and anhydrous sodiumcarbonate and trisodium phosphate being present in approximately equalamounts by weight.

The above being among the objects of the present invention, the sameconsists in a certain novel mixture of material to be hereinafter morefully described, and then claimed, having theabove and other objects inview.

We have found that a water solution of glue,

where the glue is present in suflicient quantities, when applied to asurface has an exceptional tendency to draw any water soluble or looseforeign material which may be upon the surface into the solution andaway from the surface. If, in treating the surface, an appreciableamount of such solution is allowed to remain on the surface and dry, theglue in the solution remaining on the surface and drying will form aprotective film over the surface which, because of the character 10 ofglue, imparts a gloss or luster to the surface and which, because of itstransparency, has no discoloring effect whatsoever. If foreign materialshould be again deposited upon the surface, the film of glue separatesit from actual contact with the surface and should the surface again becleaned the film of glue is readily dissolved and removed, carrying withit the foreign material. This not only provides a quick and convenientway of both protecting and/or cleaning a surface and by following outsuch procedure the character of the surface may be maintained free ofthe effects of foreign material for a relatively long period of time.

It is, of course, rather diil'icult, for a water solution of glue byitself to remove foreign material from a surface that is not soluble inwater and which adheres to the surface, and we have discovered that ifan additional suitable element or elements are introduced into thesolution, practically all foreign material which may be found upon asurface, may be quickly and readily removed with a minimum of physicalexertion. The additional element or elements which are preferablyemployed with the water and glue for this. purpose may be borax, sodiumcarbonate, trisodium phosphate or equivalent materials and one or moreof such elements may be employed in the broader aspects of theinvention. We have discovered that in order to prevent such elementsfrom adversely affecting the surface by penetration thereof the glueshould constitute threeeighths of one per, cent to two per cent of thetotal solution, and should constitute 25% to 50% of the combined weightof the glue and the cleaning element or elements other than water.Although any one or more of the elements described may be used with theglue and water to form a suitable solution, weprefer to employ eithersodium carbonate or borax, and preferably the former, and trisodiumphosphate for the reason that the sodium carbonate or borax acts tosoften the water and the trisodium phosphate acts to penetrate theforeign material and permit its ready removal. Preferably the sodiumcarbonate is or borax and trisodium phosphate are present inapproximately equal amounts and individually in amounts approximatelyequal to the glue.

In marketing the material it is, of course, preferable to mix the glueand one or more elements described in a dry state and allow the ultimateuser to dissolve the required amount of the mixture in the requiredamount of water; In such case the mixture sold will comprise from 25% to50% glue, bone glue being preferable because of economy although anyother suitable type will function satisfactorily. The remainder of themixture will, of course, constitute one or more of the elements borax,sodium carbonate, trisodium phosphate or their equivalent and preferablytrisodium phosphate with either sodium carbonate or borax. While theproportions of the elements other than the glue may be varied where twoor more such elements are employed, we prefer to employ sodium carbonateor borax in equal amounts with trisodium phosphate. Sodium carbonate ispreferable particularly from the standpoint of cost. Also anhydroussodium carbonate is preferably employed for the reason that its watercontent is usually about 12%, while the water content of hydrous sodiumcarbonate is approximately 54% and where the mixture is formed withhydrous sodium carbonate, there is a tendency to cake which, although itdoes not affect the ultimate result, makes it more difficult to dissolvethe mixture in the water.

A preferred composition of material or mixture for the above describedpurposes includes approximately 36% glue, 32% anhydrous sodium carbonateand 32% trisodium phosphate. Coloring matter or material designed togive a distinct scent or odor to the mixture may be added if desired,but inasmuch as such material is usually and preferably inert as far asthe action of the mixture is concerned, it may be considered as merelyadditive to the above stated proportions and, accordingly, is not takeninto consideration in the following claims. It will also be apparentthat other elements that may have certain desirable results may be addedto the above composition without affecting the broad invention herein.

Where such a dry mixture is prepared for marketing purposes it will, ofcourse, be understood that the various elements entering into it arepreferably reduced to powdered or granular form and intimatelyinter-mixed with each other. In employing this mixture for the purposesof cleaning a surface, preferably two to five ounces of the mixture aredissolved in a gallon of water. A cloth or other element is thenimmersed in the solution, partially wrung out and then employed to rubor wash the surface whichit is desired to clean, the cloth beingrepeatedly rinsed in the solution as often as is required to maintain itsuitably free of the foreign material and, of course, as soon as thesolution becomes sufficiently contaminated with the foreign material, itis dispensed with and replaced by some new solution. In cleaning asurface in the manner de scribed, it is preferable not to wipe thesurface dry but rather to leave an appreciable amount of the solution onthe surface and allow it to dry thereon. The solution in drying on awall will leave aminute coating of glue over the surface and any foreignmaterial which may thereafter become deposited on the surface will beseparated from actual contact therewith by the film of glue.Furthermore, this coating of glue will enhance the luster and gloss ofthe surface. Obviously, should the surface thereafter be again cleaned,

the a lication of water to the m of glue will disso' e ,it and theforeign material will readily be removed therewith.

may be noted that the material may be used as n initial protectivecovering for newly painted o "ither surfaceajhereby permitting greaterease in subsequent cleaning operations and eliminating the possibilityof the foreign material initially affecting the surface before it iscleaned with the preparation disclosed.

It is to be particularly noted that the cleaning agents disclosedherein, namely borax, sodium carbonate and trisodium phosphate, it aloneor in combination with each other, are dissolved in water without theaddition of glue and employed to clean a surface, they will have anadverse effect upon the surface such as, for instance, attacking thepaint where the surface is a painted surface, but we have discoveredthat where glue in sufllcient amounts is employed with such a cleaningagent, the glue prevents such agent from penetrating the surfacesufliciently to effect the character thereof, and a minimum amount ofglue which we have found capable of being employed to successfullyresist the penetrating effect particularly of the trisodium phosphate isapproximately 25% of the dry mixture. We have also discovered that ifless than 25% of the dry mixture disclosed comprises glue then therewill be an insufficient amount of glue left on the surface to providethe necessary film or coating to properly protect the surface fromforeign material thereafter deposited upon it.. Accordingly, it will beunderstood that the amount of glue should never be reduced below theminimum amount stated if the objects of the present invention are to beadequately attained.

Likewise we have found that the addition of glue in amounts greater than50% of the dry mixture is undesirable for the reason that not only doesit tone down or reduce the cleaning effect of the other element orelements to an undesirable extent, but additionally it is liable toleave too heavy a deposit of glue on the surface where the coating ofthe solution of the material allowed to remain on the surface and to bedried thereon is unusually heavy and unevenly distributed, for in suchcase visible streaks due to the variation in thickness of the glue filmmay often times be apparent. As above stated we have found that when theglue constitutes approximately one-third of the dry mixture best allround results are obtainable.

While the mixture disclosed is particularly adaptable for use inconnection with cleaning painted, varnished or other like surfaces, wehave also discovered that it is also admirably suitable for use inconnection with cleaning carpets, rugs or the like as the sodiumcompound loosens the dirt or other foreign material in the nap and theadhesive qualities of the glue draw the dirt or foreign material intothe solution leaving the nap free from any soapy film. This is ofconsiderable importance in protecting the life of a rug or carpet. Inthis connection it may be pointed out that where rugs or carpets the rugor carpet even thoughthe same is apparently rubbed as dry as practicalfor, unlike painted surfaces, the nap of the rug or carpet will absorb acertain amount of the material from which the water will escape only byevaporation, thus leaving the required deposit of glue.

Formal changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the-inventiondescribed without departing from th'espirit or substance of the broadinvention the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What we claim is: I

1. A cleaning mixture to be thereafter dissolved in water for cleaningpainted or varnished surfaces consisting of'25% to 50% by weight of boneglue,and the balance consisting of a material selected from a class ofsubstances consisting of borax, sodium carbonate and trisodiumphosphate.

2. A cleaning mixture to be thereafter dissolved in water for cleaningpainted or varnished surfaces consisting of 25% to 50% by weight of boneglue, and the balance consisting of a material selected from a class ofsubstances consisting of borax, anhydrous sodium carbonate and trisodiumphosphate.

3. A cleaning mixture to be thereafter dissolved in water for cleaningpainted or varnished surfaces consisting of 25%to 50% by weight of boneglue, and the balance consisting of approximately equal parts by weightof trisodium phosphate, and a material selected from a class ofsubstances consisting of sodium carbonate and borax.

4. A cleaning mixture to be thereafter dissolved in water for cleaningpainted or varnished surfaces consisting of 25% to 50% by weight of boneglue, and the balance consisting of approximately equal parts by weightof trisodium phosphate and sodium carbonate.

5. A cleaning mixture to be thereafter dissolved in water for cleaningpainted or varnished surfaces consisting of 25% to 50% by weight of boneglue, and the balance consisting of approximately equal parts by weightof trisodium phosphate and anhydrous sodium carbonate.

6. A cleaning mixture to be thereafter dissolved in water for cleaningpainted or varnished surfaces consisting of approximately 335 93 byweight of bone glue, and the balance consisting of approximately equalparts by weight of trisodium phosphate and sodium carbonate.

EHZABE'IH P. MACDONALD. NAOMI W. S'I'ENGLEIN.

